Policemen and other law enforcement, security and military personnel typically carry a number of weapons and tools on their person. These can include a hand gun, a baton, a flashlight, a mace can, an electric shocker, a laser pointer, etc. Batons are used for crowd control or the dispersal of belligerent people, as well as rescuing trapped individuals by breaking windows or doors.
There are two main disadvantages with the current baton. First, the length of the baton is limited, so that it can be carried conveniently on a belt or other easily accessible location. However, this means that the personnel must come into close contact with the individuals to be hit, subdued or moved aside. And second, the user would typically use one hand for using the baton and thus he can use only one other tool at the same time, since if more than one of these tools or weapons is used simultaneously, typically the user must hold one tool in each hand, so neither hand is free for any other activity.
There are known expandable telescopic batons that are manually expandable by the user. They include a telescopic rod that can be used to hit an assailant by manually extending it and hitting or jabbing him with it.
There are also known electroshock weapons, such as Tasers, for subduing a person from a distance of several meters. These Tasers include a cartridge which holds a pair of small, dart-like electrodes, coupled by conductors to the main unit. When these dart-like electrodes are fired towards a target, they lodge in the target and deliver electric current to the target to disrupt voluntary control of the muscles. Each time the user wishes to use the Taser, he must first insert a fresh cartridge. There are also known non-Taser stun guns or electro-shock weapons that deliver an electric shock aimed at temporarily disrupting muscle functions and/or inflicting pain without causing significant injury. Many types of these devices exist. Stun guns, batons (or prods), and belts administer an electric shock by direct contact, whereas Tasers (conducted electrical weapons) fire projectiles that administer the shock through thin flexible wires. Long-range electroshock projectiles, which can be fired from ordinary shotguns and do not need the wires, have also been developed.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for a weapon that is compact for carrying but can be used effectively at a distance from the user, and it would be very desirable if the weapon was designed to permit simultaneous use of more than one tool or weapon while leaving at least one of the user's hands free.